OREANDA-NEWS. MPX Energia informs that, on April 5, the fourth turbine of Parnaiba I Thermoelectric Power Plant, with installed capacity of 169 MW, made the first synchronization with the Interconnected National System (SIN). On April 6, the turbine reached its nominal capacity of 169 MW and has been operating in test phase since then. The endeavor corresponds to the first phase of the Parnaiba Thermoelectric Complex, in the municipality of Santo Antonio dos Lopes, in the state of Maranhao.

Thermal Power Plant Parnaiba I, a 70/30% partnership between MPX and Petra Energia, is composed by four gas fueled turbines of 169 MW each, to a total installed capacity of 676 MW. Three of the four turbines are currently already generating at plain capacity, being remunerated according to the Energy Commercialization in a Regulated Environment Agreement (CCEAR) secured in the 2008 A-5 energy auction. With the synchronization of the fourth turbine, the power plant reached its total nominal potency of 676 MW, with a gas consumption equivalent to 4.4 million cubic meters per day.

The natural gas used by Thermal Power Plant Parnaiba is supplied by the subsidiary company OGX Maranhao, a partnership established between MPX (33.3%) and OGX (66.6%).

The Parnaiba Thermal Power Complex, located in the municipality of Santo Antonio dos Lopes, in the state of Maranhao, is a pioneering endeavor that integrates the production of natural gas to energy generation, with a license to reach up to 3,722 MW of installed capacity. MPX invests more than BRL 2.6 billion in the implementation of phases 1 and 2, which will become operational in 2014. A partnership between MPX (70%) and Petra Energia (30%), the endeavor generates approximately 2,300 direct jobs, 80% coming from the local workforce. The plant is supplied by the gas produced by OGX and MPX in the Parnaiba Basin.